HRC Blog

Recognizing 30 Years of the AIDS Epidemic

Today, Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, issued the following statement on the 30th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic:

“Thirty years ago this week doctors released the first published reports of AIDS. Since then, the disease has devastated our community and others across the world. Its affects have been disproportionately felt among people of color, especially young gay and bisexual men in those communities. But AIDS has also brought all of our communities together in ways we never expected. We remember those we’ve lost, commend the people who have cared for those with HIV and AIDS, and thank those who have worked tirelessly over the past 30 years to find a cure. Our work is not done. We must continue our fight for all those who have passed, and to ensure that others will continue to live. We must keep educating and breaking down the barriers of stigma and discrimination wherever we may find them. We must remind our young people, and keep reminding them, that AIDS remains a crisis. And we must all work to ensure that the President’s historic national strategy on HIV and AIDS receives the commitment and resources it needs to truly change the course of the epidemic.”